In France, even a simple fruit salad can feel refined when it is prepared with a beautiful ingredient like rose water. This French fruit salad with rose water is fresh and light, making it a wonderful dessert for warm days, casual lunches, or a pretty brunch table. It is quick to make, healthy, and just a little more special than an ordinary fruit salad.
French Cuisine and Flowers
Since the 18th century, the French have used flowers such as jasmine, carnations, roses, orange blossoms, and violets in cooking. French cuisine called for flowers to enhance fruit salads, pastries, jams, jellies, and sorbets. They were used not only for their delightful scent but also for their supposed medicinal properties.
Even today, it’s common to see raspberry and rose-flavored pastries or rose petal jams in upscale pastry shops in France. And candy shops still sell candied violet leaves or violet-scented syrups.
But only certain varieties of fresh flowers are edible. So if you’re tempted to try using some in your recipes, first ask a pharmacist which ones can be used in food. An easy way around this is to use flower waters that are meant for cooking. I’ve included below an easy French fruit salad recipe scented with rose water.
Recipe: French Fruit Salad Recipe with Rose Water
For 6:
Ingredients:
• 1 small ripe pineapple (or unsweetened canned pineapple slices)
• 2 pears
• 4 passion fruits
• 20 cl/ 6 fl oz of sugar syrup
• 1 TB of rose water
• 2 pinches of vanilla powder (or 1/4 tsp of pure extract)
• 2 pinches of cinnamon
Instructions:
• Cut the passion fruits in half and scoop out the interior (seeds and juice) into a large bowl
• Add to the bowl the sugar syrup, rose water, cinnamon, and vanilla and stir
• Remove the outer husk of the pineapple; cut the pulp in 1/2 inch slices
• Peel the pears and cut in quarters one inch thick
• Add the sliced pineapple and pears to the bowl and mix delicately
• Leave covered in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving
Where to find Flower Waters for Cooking and Baking Online
High-quality flower waters for home-cooking can be found easily on Amazon.com:
Orange Blossom Water:
Noirot Orange Flower Water from France
Cortas Orange Flower Water on Amazon.com
Rose Water:
Nielsen-Massey Rose Water on Amazon.com
Cortas Rose Flower Water on Amazon.com
Cortas Combo Pack: 1 Bottle Orange Blossom and 1 Bottle Rose Water
Conclusion:
The wonderful thing about French cuisine is that it makes ample use of flowers to enhance simple ingredients.
The rose water in this fruit salad recipe adds an extra twist that will wow your family or guests. It’s easy to prepare, can be made in advance, and even packed for a picnic.
Floral waters are easier to use and last longer than trying to find the right varietal of fresh flowers for cooking. I always have two on hand because they’re the most versatile: orange blossom water (an ingredient on the “French Pantry Checklist“) and rose water (both are from Thiercelin).
I keep them refrigerated and use them both in sweet and savoury dishes.
In addition to the fruit salad recipe above, try a dash of rose water with any red berries (raspberries, strawberries, etc.) or in your Earl Grey or herbal teas.
And now, how about you? Do you use flowers or floral water in cooking? Send me an email and let me know!
Are we following each other yet? Come on over and say “Hi” on Instagram and Facebook!